Comment by dabedee

2 months ago

This is coming from a cofounder at github, someone who probably knows precisely what the GPL is for. Whatever the legal merits, building on a GPL3 project's complete test suite and relicensing under MIT is not acting in good faith toward the original authors. I really find it disgusting and it makes me want to avoid gitbutler entirely.

I think you're saying that you don't believe in the freedoms to use the GPL licensed test suite for certain purposes which are explicitly allowed by the GPL.

You don't get to choose a license and then add extra terms to it when you don't feel like it's up to scratch. That's something explicitly not allowed by the GPL license.

  • Where does the GPL say you have the freedom to relicense code or derivatives under MIT by fiat?

    Isn’t having to stay under the GPL a very big part of the GPL license?

    • > Where does the GPL say you have the freedom to relicense code or derivatives under MIT by fiat?

      The first part of this sentence (where in the GPL) is unreached if the second part of it is unmet (relicense code or derivatives) which I contend it likely is. You're begging the question.

      However:

      > The output from running a covered work is covered by this License only if the output, given its content, constitutes a covered work

      earlier:

      > A “covered work” means either the unmodified Program or a work based on the Program.

      It's that element that would be difficult to prove "work based on the Program"

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